What’s your energy legacy? Improving Your Energy Efficiency

Participate in Energy Efficiency

Scientific observations increasingly support the idea that our climate is changing. A portion of that change can be attributed to emissions of heat-trapping gases released by human activity, including the burning of coal, oil, and gas. The National Climate Assessment, the latest White House report on climate change, provides a backdrop for President Obama’s call this past Friday for all Americans to work towards reducing greenhouse emissions by adopting more energy efficient building practices as well as solar energy.

According to the report, “Summers are longer and hotter, and extended periods of unusual heat last longer than any living American has ever experienced. Winters are generally shorter and warmer. Rain comes in heavier downpours. People are seeing changes in the length and severity of seasonal allergies, the plant varieties that thrive in their gardens, and the kinds of birds they see in any particular month in their neighborhood.”

Friday, Obama spoke to these issues, addressing new plans to promote solar power and energy efficiency. Though some claim that a move towards energy efficiency would cost American jobs, Obama stated that “there are cost-effective ways to tackle climate change and create jobs at the same time.” There’s significant evidence to back up that claim. As of January 2013, jobs in the solar industry sector alone were growing ten times faster than the national average employment growth, and it’s it’s estimated that investment in energy efficiency and advanced technology would support an increase of 1.3 to 1.9 million jobs by 2050.

Obama’s strategy is projected to create enough new solar energy to power more than 130,000 homes, including his own. Plans to install solar panels on the White House are already underway.

The fact is, we have a shared energy legacy lying before us as a nation, but as individuals, we have the potential to shape our own independent legacies as well. By adopting energy efficient practices and solar power, we can reduce our carbon footprint and contribute to the reduction of our national carbon footprint.

If that doesn’t hit home, consider the fact that according to the U.S. Department of Energy , the typical U.S. family spends close to $1,500 each year on energy bills at least. That’s $27,000 over an eighteen year period. Improving your home’s energy efficiency just by installing insulation could reduce that sum by as much as half to $13,500 – that’s about as much as a year at a public university. How’s that for an energy legacy?